Thai Town

With its influx of Thai immigrants and businesses, the six-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between Western and Normandie was officially designated as Thai Town in 1999. Two tall "Aponsi" Thai angel statues welcome visitors to the restaurants and shops housed in its strip malls, which are an Asian foodie haven ranging from cheap and quick to authentic culinary excursions. Dining Palms Thai (5900 Hollywood Blvd., suite B, [323] 462-5073, www.palmsthai.com), with its infamous Thai Elvis impersonator, has always been one of the main draws to Thai Town.

Dassler Jimenez stood on a busy stretch of Western Avenue in East Hollywood, ready to plant a flag and call it "Little Venezuela. " Never mind that none of his countrymen live or own businesses in the neighborhood - or the fact that Jimenez has no money to finance the effort and little clue how to make it happen. "If the Armenians and the Koreans did it," Jimenez said, "why can't we?" Jimenez and other Latino leaders have teamed up to promote a common goal: carving out islands for their communities in Los Angeles' jumbled landscape - Peru Village, Little Venezuela, Paseo Colombia, Guatemalan Mayan Village, Oaxacan Corridor.

A brand-new flaming star of glorious, singing, singeing Isaan Thai cooking has landed smack in the center of Thai Town. But it's hiding behind a false face. Krua Siri smells right, but the menu seems all wrong. It's chock-full of such depressingly non-Thai dishes as orange chicken and Vietnamese pho ? the sort of pan-Asian pandering that typically marks an insincere kitchen. But press the waitress for her favorite items and she might start dropping dishes that appear nowhere on the menu.

It's almost like something out of a novel by Jack Kerouac: In 2008, Anna Stothard landed at what must have been the last scruffy hotel in Venice Beach, a dingy pink monolith at the end of the wild road trip she took after finishing college. Before she knew it, she'd fallen for Los Angeles. Stothard hadn't planned on it, but when an opportunity arose, she finagled her way into AFI's screenwriting program. She already had an impressive résumé: she'd published her first novel, "Isabel and Rocco," at age 19, and the degree she'd just finished was at Oxford University.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to designate an area east of Hollywood as "Thai Town," the first official Thai town in the nation. The designation was proposed by Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who said the move would bring neighborhood pride, economic development and promotion of tourism to the area.

On a recent afternoon, Los Angeles urban planners Chancee Martorell and Alex Holsheimer looked at a nondescript intersection and envisioned the makings of a signature plaza that would bring a physical focal point to the six-block area along Hollywood Boulevard known as Thai Town. The parking lot at Hobart Boulevard, Holsheimer mused, could be transformed into a central plaza and green space featuring a tree linked to Buddhism, which infuses Thai culture: The sacred fig, also known as the Bodhi tree, is said to have shaded Buddha when he achieved enlightenment.

We'd painstakingly worked our way through Ban Phai's specials menu, my Thai friends doing the translating and me doing the nodding. Everything sounded wonderful, with some dishes sounding unlike anything I'd had at your typical Thai restaurant. Then the food started coming, and it was like opening presents. Right away we were awed by a silvery lotus that appeared at our table. It was foil folded gracefully around seafood that had been steamed with coconut milk and curry paste.

Suspend disbelief for a moment and envision East Hollywood as Bangkok. Images of the Emerald Buddha festoon storefronts. Thai folk music accompanies classical dancers in gloriously colored gowns. Aromas of soothing mint and fiery chilies fill the nostrils. It is the vision of a determined group of Thai immigrants, and it is slowly taking life in a worn patch of the East Hollywood flats.

The western entrance to Thai Town in East Hollywood is guarded by two golden Apsonsi angel statues -- half-woman, half-lion figures of Thai folklore symbolically charged with guarding the ethnic enclave. Eight years after the stretch of Hollywood Boulevard from Western to Normandie avenues was officially designated Thai Town, the neighborhood offers a colorful streetscape that matches the lively flavors found in the area's crowded Thai restaurants and markets as well as its Armenian bakeries.

The economy of this frog-farming village nearly croaked when the price of its plump product slumped on the international market. But Bo Talo may take a leap back from financial ruin with an innovative product: frog-in-a-can. People in the central Thailand village have long raised muddy brown-colored, bumpy-skinned frogs for export to places like Taiwan, where frog legs and frog soup are favorites. But in 2000, the price of live frogs fell.

If you're driving down Sunset Boulevard near La Brea Avenue, you may recognize a familiar red sign written in Thai. Pa Ord, the beloved Thai boat noodle restaurant in Thai Town, has opened a second location. The new Pa Ord opened mid-April on the northeast corner of Sunset and La Brea. The noodle joint took over the old Thai Foon space sandwiched between Ono Hawaiian BBQ and a NutriShop vitamin store. The new location has a slightly different menu from the first, but not to worry, the crispy pork and boat noodles are still available.

A brand-new flaming star of glorious, singing, singeing Isaan Thai cooking has landed smack in the center of Thai Town. But it's hiding behind a false face. Krua Siri smells right, but the menu seems all wrong. It's chock-full of such depressingly non-Thai dishes as orange chicken and Vietnamese pho ? the sort of pan-Asian pandering that typically marks an insincere kitchen. But press the waitress for her favorite items and she might start dropping dishes that appear nowhere on the menu.

With its influx of Thai immigrants and businesses, the six-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between Western and Normandie was officially designated as Thai Town in 1999. Two tall "Aponsi" Thai angel statues welcome visitors to the restaurants and shops housed in its strip malls, which are an Asian foodie haven ranging from cheap and quick to authentic culinary excursions. Dining Palms Thai (5900 Hollywood Blvd., suite B, [323] 462-5073, www.palmsthai.com), with its infamous Thai Elvis impersonator, has always been one of the main draws to Thai Town.

When Maminul Haque greets friends, he uses the Bangla "Kamon aachen!" When he is hungry, he drops by one of numerous Bangladeshi eateries for a plate of curry -- more spicy than the Indian version, devotees agree. Although he is standing in the heart of Koreatown, he and many other Bangladeshi Americans say the name does not reflect all its inhabitants. Now, the community is seeking recognition of its own "Little Bangladesh" within the area west of downtown popularly known as Koreatown.

On a recent afternoon, Los Angeles urban planners Chancee Martorell and Alex Holsheimer looked at a nondescript intersection and envisioned the makings of a signature plaza that would bring a physical focal point to the six-block area along Hollywood Boulevard known as Thai Town. The parking lot at Hobart Boulevard, Holsheimer mused, could be transformed into a central plaza and green space featuring a tree linked to Buddhism, which infuses Thai culture: The sacred fig, also known as the Bodhi tree, is said to have shaded Buddha when he achieved enlightenment.

The sort-of-ironic hipster strip club Jumbo's Clown Room taught The Enabler a valuable lesson last Friday night: Never ask the girl sitting next to you at a strip club if it's amateur night. The Enabler did just that when confronted with the sight of a noncommittal gang of less-than-lithe veterans halfheartedly shimmying to booty rap onstage. "What makes you think that?" the bottle-blond asked, her voice dripping contempt. "Those girls are professional dancers and so am I."

A mound of fragrant jasmine rice arrives at the table piled high with a montage of slivered green mango, sliced lemon grass, finely cut green beans, bean sprouts, cucumbers and shredded carrots and cabbage. It's sprinkled with julienned kaffir lime leaves, ground dried shrimp and chile powder and served with a small bowl of sweet-salty budu sauce and a wedge of lime.